Mystery on the Hogwarts Express
by Amethyst Shard
Summary: Something sinister has boarded the Hogwarts Express. Its up to Harry to find out who or what it is, before its too late. Harry/Draco slash.
1. Part One

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the sole creation of J. K. Rowling. I do not claim any rights or ownership of it. I'm just an obsessive fan who likes putting other people's characters into unlikely situations and seeing what happens.

Notes: This story contains slash (of the Harry/Draco variety). If that's not your cup of tea, then you may want to move on to another story. Feedback is my candy, so whether you liked it or didn't, please tell me so (and why). And if you really like my story, I'm looking for a code to get my own LiveJournal (or DeadJournal) so that I have place to rant over my Harry Potter slash obsession and post updates to my stories. If you have one to spare, I would be eternally grateful. I'd even draw you up some fan art of your favorite HP character/couple as thanks. My email address can be found on my profile, if anyone wishes to contact me (about the story, code, or anything else).

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Harry Potter and the Mystery on the Hogwarts Express  
By Amethyst Shard

Harry, Hermione, and Ron, who sat comfortably in a compartment inside the Hogwarts Express, were retelling the events of their summer. Ron's arms were waving frantically as he recounted his brothers', Fred and George, latest Weasley's Wizard Wheezes invention and its disastrous results.

"I thought she was going to blow a gasket! As it is they're grounded forever and Mum forbid them from going to Hogsmead this year. She thinks they need to spend more time studying, of course, that's not going to stop them. They know every secret passageway in and out of that school, I reckon."

Just then the door slid open. Their heads turned to face the newcomer and a few jaws dropped. Pale grey eyes skimmed over their faces, finally settling on Harry. "Oh, there you are." Bright green eyes stared steadily back at the boy. The blond nodded his head towards the corridor, indicating Harry should follow.

Harry nodded and stood. Ron, who had started to turn an unhealthy shade of pink, looked sharply at the Boy-Who-Lived. "You're not going with that git are you?"

Draco glared at the redhead and Harry shook his head. "I'll be right back. Sit down Ron."

"I'm going with you."

Harry's voice turned hard. "I don't need a babysitter. I'll be fine. Stay." Ron looked about to argue, so Harry relaxed his voice and forced a smile. "Ron, it's fine really. I'll tell you everything when I get back, alright?"

Ron didn't look convinced, but conceded anyway. 

"The hell you will," declared Draco after Harry had firmly shut the compartment door closed. They started walking towards the back luggage compartment.

"Don't worry, I'll make something up."

After they reached the cramped roomed and were certain they were alone, Harry turned to face Malfoy. They stared at each other heatedly for a few moments, before Harry shoved Draco against a stack of trunks. Draco gasped as the wind got knocked out of him. He grabbed the front of Harry's shirt pulling him closer and hooked his leg around the Gryffindor's waist, trapping him. 

Harry didn't bother trying to escape and instead grinned in a decidedly feral sort of way, pressing closer, and kissed the other boy. Draco moaned as the mouth clamped onto his own and reached a hand up to grasp a clump of untidy black hair. Harry broke away gasping for air and smiling.

Draco smiled back. "I've missed you."

Harry leaned forward kissing him again quickly, tugging at the blonde's bottom lip with his teeth as he pulled away. "I missed you too."

"How much time do you suppose we have until Weasley and Granger come looking for you?"

Harry sighed. "Not long. They probably think you're hexing me as we speak."

Draco frowned, disappointment showing clearly on his face. "I told you this would be easier if you'd just ditch them."

"And I told you that Ron and Hermione are my friends and I'm not giving them up for anything."

"I gave up Crabbe and Goyle."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "You what?"

"Something wrong with your ears? You heard me. I told them they were a couple of blithering idiots and that they could just sod off. Of course, I tell them that every week, so I had to repeat myself a few times before it sunk in that I was being serious."

Harry shook his head. "I can't believe you did that."

"How else did you think I was going to be able to keep seeing you? They're spies, you know? Everything and everywhere that I do, say, or go, gets reported back to their fathers, which in turn gets reported to my father."

"And what do you think Lucius is going to say, when he finds out you dumped your two henchmen?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Please, Potter. My father would never actually admit to spying on me. It won't matter when he does find out anyway, because there's absolutely nothing he can do while I'm at Hogwarts and without his spies, he won't have a clue what's going on."

"You do realize you still have to share a room with them, right?"

"Harry, Harry, Harry. You really think I could have gotten through five years of listening to Greg and Vince snoring (if you can call those horrid croaking noises that) without making other arrangements?"

Harry narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You're telling me you have your own room?"

Draco smirked, wrapping his arms around Harry's neck and replied, "Be nice to me and you may just find out."

Harry resisted only slightly as Draco pulled him down for another kiss. Even more reluctantly he pulled away. "I would love to stay Draco, I really would, but I have to get back before Ron and Hermione decide to send out a search squad."

Draco loosened his grip and pushed Harry away. "Fine. Go. Leave me, they always do." He sighed over dramatically.

Harry rolled his eyes, smiling, and pulled Draco in for one last quick, chaste, kiss. "I could never leave you. Believe me, I've tried. You just keep finding me again."

Draco shoved Harry toward the door. "Smart-ass."

Harry laughed, but stopped just before opening the door. He stared at the pale blond Slytherin and the affection there was unmistakable. "Will you meet me here again, before we get to Hogwarts?"

"You think you can escape your tagalongs again?"

Harry replied determinedly, "I'll find away." 

Draco nodded. "I'll be here."

"If you're not, I'll come find you."

"You better." Draco winked and pushed past him out the door. He glanced down the long corridor and motioned to Harry that it was safe to exit. Silently they left, returning to their separate compartments, trying to keep the grins from showing on their faces.

End Part One.


	2. Part Two

Notes: Its late, I'm high on vanilla coke, and this hasn't been beta read. I really shouldn't be posting this just yet, but I was so excited to see that I'd already gotten two reviews for the first chapter that I couldn't wait. Thank you NuTtErS169 and goth serphyona so much! Your comments mean a lot to me. ^_^ I'm glad you liked it. I'm not sure I'll be able to get the rest of the chapters out as quickly as this one, but I'll certainly try.

  
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Harry Potter and the Mystery on the Hogwarts Express

Part Two

  


Harry realized too late as he entered his compartment that he forgot to think up an excuse for leaving with Draco, the way he had. As it happened it wasn't needed. Hermione was sitting alone, with her feet pulled up onto the seat and a book propped open on her knees. 

"Where's Ron?"

Hermione looked up. "Hmm? Oh, you're back. Crookshanks got out and Ron volunteered to go find her. I rather think he just wanted an excuse to go look for you. I'm surprised you didn't run into him."

Harry sat down across from Hermione and wondered why she wasn't asking him about his mysterious visit with Draco. She seemed somewhat distracted.

"I hope she's alright."

"Pardon?"

"I don't suppose you saw her on your way back?"

Harry realized she was talking about her cat and shook his head. "Sorry." Hermione looked worried, so he added, "I'm sure she's alright. I bet she got stuck in a compartment full of coddling first years or something."

Hermione smiled faintly and said, "I'm probably worrying over nothing, but still... she's been acting very skittish ever since we got on the train."

Harry wondered how this was any different from how the cat usually acted, but wisely kept the thought to himself. He redirected their conversation onto the homework that was assigned over the summer in an effort to distract her. Unfortunately it worked a little too well and Harry had to force an enthusiastic smile on his face as Hermione recited (verbatim, he reckoned) her essay for Arithmancy. 

In another compartment not too far away, Draco sat near the window, rapping his knuckles against the glass impatiently. He glanced across his seat at Blaise Zambini, whose head was slumped against the glass, asleep. The scenery outside passed by in a blur but went mostly unnoticed by Draco whose thoughts were with a certain Gryffindor Seeker. His eyes glazed over as his mind drifted onto the events leading up to their whirlwind romance.

After the humiliation he suffered on the train at the end of his fourth year, Draco had spent the first month of his summer break planning and plotting his revenge. He knew his father had to know where Harry lived, since he worked at the Ministry of Magic and had many connections. He questioned him for two weeks straight until his father finally caved in and told him. After divining his son's purpose, his sole advice to Draco was _not to get caught. _Draco had no intention of getting caught. He was on his last warning for using magic outside the school. One more violation and he would be expelled. But Draco was cunning like all good Slytherins are and knew he could get his revenge without the use of a wand.

Everything was going swimmingly, right up until the point Draco swooped down on his shiny new _Silver Streak 3000_ broom in front of number four Privet Drive and caught his first sight of The-Boy-Who-Lived. He was working in the garden... shirtless... sweating... with a hint of a tan dusting his normally pale skin. Draco felt his throat go dry and immediately forgot why he'd come. He found himself frozen in place as Harry stood up from where he'd been kneeling, weeds falling off his dirt speckled jeans onto the neatly trimmed grass at his shoeless feet, and stretched. As though he sensed Draco's presence, his bright green eyes shot open and stared directly at him. It was then that he opened his mouth and said something that Draco would never forget for the rest of his life...

"Hckgckoo."

Draco blinked rapidly and his eyes refocused on the Slytherin across from him. He sneered in disgust as he realized the uncomely noise had come from Blaise. His concentration thoroughly broken, Draco decided enough time had passed and that he'd head back to the luggage compartment to await Harry.

Meanwhile Harry's own eyes were glazing over in boredom as Hermione moved on from Transfiguration to Charms and a new spell she was eager to try out as soon as they returned to school. He ticked off the minutes in his head until he could escape and see Draco again. Briefly he wondered where Ron had gotten to and as Hermione launched into a discussion on the effects of the use of artificial versus natural ingredients in potion making, Harry envied him, wherever he was.

In fact Ron probably would have gladly traded places with Harry as he left a room fool of giggling second years after his third search through the train. He silently cried out in frustration. The cat just wasn't anywhere to be found. He decided to start his fourth search in Dean, Seamus, and Neville's compartment, the reason of which had nothing to do with the fact that he'd seen them raiding the snack cart during his last inspection. He rubbed his stomach as it growled and wondered if they'd gone through all the Chocolate Frogs yet.

End Part Two.


	3. Part Three

Notes: What's this? Two chapters posted in one day? Wow, I can't believe it and I wrote it. I'm posting these as I finish them. Hopefully I'll keep up my momentum on this story. I'm already working on the next chapter and at the risk of jinxing myself, it should be ready sometime tomorrow. And if you want more chapters sooner, remember to leave feedback. It helps to fuel my ego and my writing. Thanks and happy reading!

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Harry Potter and the Mystery on the Hogwarts Express

Part Three

  


Muffled laughter and excited chatter could be heard all through the train as Draco made his way down the corridor. He walked slowly, occasionally stopping to eavesdrop, as a snatch of conversation caught his attention. He paused outside Harry's compartment and Granger's voice drifted out to meet him. He moved closer, listening for Harry's voice, but the girl never stopped talking. Even when she finished a sentence with a question, she continued on without waiting for an answer. Draco didn't think even the most studious Ravenclaw could match her enthusiasm for schoolwork. 

Still unsure whether Harry was inside, Draco decided to move on before someone caught him listening in.

He stopped when he heard the faint sound of scratching against a door. He followed the noise to the far back compartment that held all the students' baggage. He looked at the closed door curiously as the scratching continued. 

Cautiously he reached out his hand and pulled on the handle. The door slid open and Draco jumped back as large orange streak shot past him. He laughed nervously when he realized he'd been startled by a cat. His eyes glanced downward briefly from where the cat had sprung from and then froze there. Small red tracks led away from the doorway. He knelt down and saw that they were cat prints. He ran his fingers over one and the sticky liquid smeared. He lifted his hand and studied the dark red substance. He sniffed it and nearly gagged. It was blood. He quickly wiped it off on his robes and looked inside the darkened room nervously. 

The cat hadn't seemed injured, so he wondered where the blood could have come from. His heart skipped a beat when he remembered he was supposed to meet Harry there. Looking down the hall, he saw no one else around. The sound of students cheerfully laughing was the only noise that met his ears. Feeling slightly foolish, he pulled out his wand and stepped inside.

His feet slipped on the floor as he passed through the doorway. He looked down and saw a pool of blood, bleeding out beneath his feet. His heart pace quickened and he tightened his grip on his wand. He pushed back the white-blond hair from his eyes with his free hand and look wildly around the cramped compartment. Light flooded in through the open door and helped illuminate the shadowy room, but Draco could see no one else there. He followed the blood to a large steamer trunk. A lock lay broken next to it. His jaw tightened as he reached a shaking hand to undo the gold colored latch. He winced as he noticed the blood dulling its shine. Using both arms he pushed the lid open. Inside was a young woman. She lay stiffly with her knees pulled up to her stomach and her eyes stared blankly ahead.

Draco had never seen a corpse up close before, but he hadn't needed to, to know that she was dead. The amount of blood covering her once white blouse was enough evidence of that. Draco wasn't sure how he should react after seeing the mutilated body of a fellow student, but he was fairly sure the numbness he felt wasn't right. 

Her long sleeves were rolled up to her elbows. Grey eyes studied the bared forearms curiously. Her skin had taken on a bluish-yellow hue that no longer seemed human. Gingerly, he took her hand into his own and turned it over. His eyes widened as he saw the archaic symbol etched into the flesh of her palm and ripped his hand away as though it had been scorched. He backed away frightened, unable to tear his eyes away from that of the girl's.

A noise startled him further and he turned to see a figure standing in the doorway. Before Draco could raise his wand or speak, a blinding light hit him and everything went to black. 

  


End Part Three.


	4. Part Four

Note: Thank you Lana for the feedback! ^_^ I adore constructive criticism, because I really want to improve my writing, but I'm not sure what you meant by 'jumping a bit'. Could you please explain? If anyone else feels the same, would you please tell me why? I'd like to make the story better if I can.

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Harry Potter and the Mystery on the Hogwarts Express

Part Four

Harry sat sprawled in his seat. He nodded and shook his head at the appropriate intervals while Hermione talked. He kept glancing at the door, wondering when she'd stop long enough for him to make a break for it. He was contemplating excusing himself to the restroom when they heard shouting and doors slamming outside their room. Curious, they slid open their door and peered out. Students were piling out of their compartments into the corridor, talking excitedly, but no one seemed to know what was going on. Suddenly a tall Ravenclaw Prefect with dark brown hair appeared, ushering everyone back into his or her rooms. "And stay in there if you know what's good for you."

The Prefect, who Harry recognized as one of the beaters for the Ravenclaw's Quidditch team, stopped in front of Harry. His gaze was grim as he looked over the Gryffindor. "You had better come with me."

As they walked Harry asked, "What's going on?"

The Prefect cast an uneasy glance at Hermione, who bristled at the slight. Harry caught this and said, "Whatever it is, you can say it in front of Hermione."

The older boy blinked and said, "Sorry, I didn't meant it as an insult. Its just-" He choked on his words. Harry noticed for the first time that his face had a rather pale pallor to it. After taking a deep breath, he raised his chin and said, "I think I better let the Head Girl explain."

They reached the back of the train and he stepped aside to reveal Ron and two other students, who looked to be the Head Girl and Boy. The Head Girl was another Ravenclaw with strawberry blond hair and the other was, most surprisingly, a burly looking Slytherin. They seemed to be arguing heatedly over something, but stopped when they saw Harry and his escorts. Ron looked up, but failed to smile when he saw his friends. A cat purred loudly in his arms.

Hermione squealed, "Crookshanks!" She ran forward and scooped her cat from Ron's arms. She cooed delightedly until she noticed the matted blood around Crookshanks' feet. "Ron! What happened?"

Ron stared at the cat in Hermione's arms unblinking. He choked out, "It's- it's not her blood." His eyes were bloodshot and puffy, as though he'd been crying. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other uneasily. 

Harry asked, "Whose blood is it?"

Ron's eyes darted to the side. Harry followed his glance to the closed door of the luggage compartment. He looked down and saw the tracks of blood leading away from it. For a moment it seemed as though his heart stopped beating and everything around him became silent and dead. Only one thought rang through his head. _'Draco.' _It was a moment before he could find his voice again. "What happened?"

The Head Girl stepped forward. She stammered slightly and Harry could see her eyes roaming to the lighting bolt shaped scar on his forehead as she spoke, "There's b- been a- a..." Her voice trailed off into a whisper.

Harry's eyes flashed in annoyance as his mind continued its mantra of _'Draco'_. "There's been a _what_?"

"Murder." The husky voice came from the Slytherin and Harry's eyes shot towards him.

It was a moment before the word really registered in his mind. _'Murder. Someone's been murdered.' _At that moment Harry had a sort of out of body experience. He felt disconnected from everything. His voice sounded strange as he heard himself ask in a hoarse whisper, "Who?"

Ron choked again and looked on the verge of crying. "I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry looked at him bewildered. _'Sorry? For what? Who's dead?' _but the questions didn't make it outside his head and instead he felt himself drifting toward the door. As his hand connected with the handle, he heard Ron plead behind him, "Harry, _don't_." Harry didn't want to, but he had to see. It felt a though something was pushing him through the door and before he knew it he was inside staring at a mass of blood. It seemed to be everywhere and coming from nowhere, until he noticed the opened trunk. And the body inside. He gasped and fell to his knees, uncaring of the blood that stained his pants. His body shook and he cried in guilty relief.

__

'It's not Draco.'

He continued crying, even as he felt an arm slide around him, pulling him out. He stumbled back outside, leaning heavily on the person holding him. 

He heard a soft feminine voice exclaim, "Oh, Harry," before he felt another set of arms surround him. Beneath the crying, Harry felt a bubble of laughter burst up. He couldn't help it. It wasn't Draco. The laughter broke through the crying and he felt the arms supporting him go slack. He wiped away the tears spilling down his face, but even as he continued crying, he laughed. Four sets of eyes watched him in fearful shock.

As he saw their expressions, it felt like he was suddenly being yanked back into his body. His stomach plunged as he staggered forward and began to regain control over his hysterical reaction. A heavy weight soon settled around him as reality took hold on his conscious. Draco wasn't dead, but someone else was. Someone he once thought he cared for. "Cho..."

End Part Four.


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